Eld Ko Swee Chay

Introduction

In Ecclesiastes 12:13, Solomon, after exploring every avenue of life in search of meaning, satisfaction and happiness, concluded that the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commandments. This sums up the teaching of the whole book of Ecclesiastes that this is what truly matters in man’s life. When we truly understand who God is and what He has done for us, we will naturally fear Him. When we love God, we will desire to please Him by keeping His commandments. When we fear God and keep His commandments, we will have knowledge and wisdom from on high that will guide and lead us to live a meaningful and fulfilling life, a life of godliness, holiness and righteousness, pleasing and acceptable and glorifying to God. It is no longer a life lived under the sun apart from God and a life of regret and vanity.

In Ecclesiastes 12:14, the last verse of the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon reminded believers to not make the mistakes he made. God will judge every one for everything done, both visible and invisible, good and evil. : “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”     

God’s judgment is certain

The inevitability of the judgment of God has already been mentioned by Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3:17 and 11:9. It is mentioned here in Ecclesiastes 12:14 more emphatically, emphasising the thoroughness of His judgment as a sure and certain undeniable fact and a strong warning and motivating power. In the Bible, there are many verses about the judgment of God, both in the OT and in the NT.

In the OT, God passed His first judgment on Adam and Eve when they sinned against Him, ate the forbidden fruit, broke God’s law: “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it”. Throughout the history of Israel, the judgments of God were for correction, warning and restoration, while demonstrating His holiness, righteousness, justice and mercy. God sent prophets to warn the northern kingdom Israel and the southern kingdom Judah of impending judgment due to their repeated sins of idolatry, disobedience and rebellion, yet the warnings also offered hope for repentance and restoration. Sadly, the warnings were ignored. God’s judgment came upon them. In the year 722 B.C. the city of Samaria fell to Assyria, marking the end of the northern kingdom Israel and the beginning of the Assyrian exile. In the year 586 B.C. king Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon captured and destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple of Solomon, and many Judeans were forcibly exiled to Babylon, marking the end of the southern kingdom Judah.

In the NT, there are many verses about God’s judgment. God the Father has entrusted all judgments to God the Son Jesus Christ (John 5:22-23). Matthew 12:36 – “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”  2 Corinthians 5:10 – “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”  Romans 14:10-12 – “¹⁰ But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. ¹¹ For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. ¹² So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”  Hebrews 9:27 – “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:” [Emphasis added].

Without a single doubt, the day of judgment will come. In that day, all believers and unbelievers must appear and stand before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account and be judged for all that they have done. Christ will judge every good and evil deed.  

God’s judgment is thorough

“God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing” (Eccl 12:14a): every thought, every motive, every word and every deed will be brought to judgment, will be inquired into by God. The most important or the most minor thing, every secret thing of every sort, from the age of accountability to the last breath of life, will be revealed, nothing missing. All hidden things done in darkness will be brought to light: “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.” (1 Corinthian 4:5).

In the day of judgment, we who are God’s children must give an account of our every thought and motive, every idle word we spoke (Matt 12:36), every decision we made, and every action we took. Our works whether gold-silver-precious stones or wood-hay-stubble (1 Cor 3:12-13), whether done with a charitable heart constrained by the love of God (1 Cor 13:1-3), our neglected personal responsibility, our guilt “wasted our Lord’s goods” (Luke 16:1-2), our conduct whether righteous or wicked and our service to God (Mal 3:18), will all be revealed. Hypocrisy and unfaithfulness shall be disclosed, faithfulness and sincerity shall be rewarded, because nothing is hidden from the Omniscient God.  

In consideration of the judgment to come and the strictness and thoroughness of that judgment, it should cause us to be very strict and disciplined in our walk with God, to live a life of godliness, holiness and righteousness according to God’s Word so that we can stand before the throne of God  without shame but with peace and joy.

God’s judgment determines eternal destiny

In the day of judgment, it will be too late for confession and repentance. It is a day of reckoning; God will not allow or entertain defence and mitigation. No one can use life’s injustices, unfairness, uncertainties and inconsistencies for failing to live according to God’s Word. Everybody is answerable to God for everything they do. God will bring judgment to everyone for everything they did. He will decide whether it is good or evil, and every person’s eternal destination will be determined. This is a stern warning to believers and unbelievers alike.

For believers and unbelievers, the judgment is described in 2 Cor 5:10 and Rev 20:11-15. All will appear before the judgment seat of Christ (also known as the Great White Throne) and be judged according to the things which they had done, whether good or bad. For believers, they are assured that their names are written in the book of life (cf. Rev 20:12). They have died in Christ, for Christ died for them. The new heaven and the new earth will be their eternal home. Their judgment will be a judgment of rewards for works which they had done for Christ.

For the unbelievers, they will be judged according to their works (Rev 20:13-15). Their names are not written in the book of life. They will be cast into the lake of fire for eternity.

John 5:28-29 gives us the eternal consequence of those who have done good or evil – “²⁸ Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, ²⁹ And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”. [Emphasis added]. Heaven or hell and lake of fire is our choice to make.

Conclusion

For most people, life is a search for meaning, fame, happiness and satisfaction. People spend time, energy and effort chasing success, wealth, pleasure and security. Solomon, after living a regretful profligate life of sin and carnality, concluded with these words of warning: “¹³ Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.¹⁴ For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”

Let us make sure our salvation by our life and not our words. Let us remember that what truly matters in life is to fulfil our God-given duty: fear Him, keep His commandments and obey His Word, for surely all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account of our lives. Christ will judge everything, including every secret thing we do, good or evil. Knowing these, let us walk in the Spirit and in obedience, live lives that honour and glorify God and reflect His love, grace, longsuffering, gentleness and goodness to others.  AMEN.